November - Whatcom County Bar Association

Transcription

November - Whatcom County Bar Association
WHATCOM COUNTY BAR
JOURNAL
NOVEMBER
www.whatcombar.org
2015
2015 WCBA Officers
President:
Vice Pres.:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Mark Kaiman
(360) 685-4221
Tom Lyden
David Brown
Olivia Burkland
Journal Editor
Mr. Rajeev D. Majumdar
(360) 332-7000
rajeev@northwhatcomlaw.com
Top Stories!
Special Considerations & Local Resources for Deaf Clients
50 Years after Miranda: Contest for Students in the 9th Circuit
Thank You for the Warm Welcome to the Whatcom Bar
8-10
11-12
13
Your Regular Favorites!
The Presidents Column— “Law is a Profession...”
Classifieds—
Jobs, office space & services!
Civil Procedure Corner— “Jurisdictional Limit for District Court Cases”
Pro Bono Connection— “LTO Thank You!”
Rajeev’s Musings—
“The A ppearance of Justice & The Bench”
Fantastic Ads & Deals!— Our Proud Sponsors
Whatcom County Bar Minutes—
2
5
6
14-18
19-20
21-25
26
Special Announcements!
Whatcom Superior Court Notice
New MCLE Rules Summary
3
4
50 Years after Miranda: Contest for Students in the 9th Circuit
Whatcom Women Lawyers Announces New Board
11-12
23
BAR LUNCH
On November 4th! ( 2015 ) At High Noon!
At Northwood Hall, 3240 Northwest Avenue, B’ham.
Guest Speaker: Honorable Ricardo S. Martinez,
United States District Court Judge – Western District of
Washington. See Bio on Page 4!
Superlative
Disclaimer:
The information & various articles contained within this publication have not been checked for
accuracy. All opinions expressed
are those of the authors and do
not reflect the opinions of the Bar
Association, the Journal, or the
agents thereof.
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The President’s Column
By Mark Kaiman, WCBA President 2015
Law is a Profession...
In Washington, a non-lawyer cannot hold any ownership interest in
a law firm, and a lawyer cannot form a partnership with a non-lawyer if
any activity of the partnership includes the practice of law. See RPC 5.4.
I’m not aware of any changes being contemplated to our rules, but there is
an interesting debate going on in Canada right now about whether nonlawyers should be able to have an ownership interest in Canadian law firms.
So-called “alternative business structures” allowing non-lawyers to take ownership stakes are
already permitted in the United Kingdom and Australia. Allowing non-lawyer ownership of law
firms is the very last thing that the State of Washington should be considering. Lawyers are bound
by strict professional rules, the most sacrosanct of which is lawyer/client privilege. The foundation
of all of the rules that govern attorney conduct is the personal relationship between a lawyer and his
client. What happens when that relationship breaks down? Will the lawyer be able to hide behind
his non-lawyer partner and/or a corporate veil? We are fortunate to be a self-regulating profession.
We are allowed to self-regulate and discipline errant lawyers because, lawyer jokes notwithstanding, the legislature and the public trust us to do so. Adding non-lawyers to the mix will erode that
trust. I cannot imagine that anyone seriously wants the Washington Department of Licensing supervising and regulating our profession.
Aside from ethical concerns, there is a more compelling reason to disallow alternative business structures for law firms. It is not the fatuous argument that “law is a profession, not a business”
- try telling that to your clients as they sign their checks to pay their legal bills. There is nothing
wrong with being entrepreneurial and trying to expand your practice. However, the pace of change
and disruption in today’s world is staggering. Innovation is good, but innovation simply for its own
sake does not benefit our clients. We cannot provide quality legal services through an Uber-like
smartphone app. Our clients need personal attention, and should not be treated like lemmings lined
up for the latest iPhone. Marty Smith’s presentation about innovation at our last bar lunch was indeed thought provoking. I am all for leveraging new technology and thinking creatively in order to
provide better quality of legal services to a broader base of clients, but I am unwilling to sacrifice
the privacy, confidentiality, and dignified treatment that our clients deserve and have come to expect.
How would adding non-lawyer owners to firms increase the quality of legal services we deliver? How would it increase the public’s ability to access our services? We should adopt a conservative approach and reject alternative business structures. The legal profession should stand like
a rock of solidity and certainty in a world that is in a state of perpetual change.
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Whatcom Superior Court
Notice to the Bar and Public
October 12, 2015
ATTENTION Law Offices Personnel: Please assure ALL staff, attorneys and, nonattorneys are aware of the contents of this notice.
NATIONAL ADOPTION DAY
Whatcom County Superior Court will be celebrating National Adoption Day Friday, November 20th at 10 a.m. National Adoption Day is a collective national effort to raise awareness
of the more than 100,000 children in foster care waiting to find permanent, loving families.
Counsel representing families who wish to participate in this annual event should contact
Deputy Court Clerk Diana Cartwright at dcartwri@co.whatcom.wa.us no later than November 13th.
Superior Court welcomes members of the legal community who wish volunteer or otherwise contribute this event should contact Natalia Burke of the Foster Care Partnership at
natalia.r.burke@gmail.com
CRIMINAL CALENDAR
Counsel are reminded that per the Superior Court Judges, you will go back to noting all
Thursday Criminal Calendar matters for 8:30 a.m. only. All parties will report to the designated courtroom assigned to the calendar at 8:30 a.m. It will be the decision of the
Judge presiding over this calendar to have the out-of-custody matters return to the courtroom at 1:30 p.m. Regardless of the Judge, please note that in-custody matters will continue to have priority.
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PAGE 5
For Sale: 2002 BMW 330Ci w/ stick shift, Excellent (like new) condition, 77,000 miles. Car
has been babied, not even a scratch, a great driving machine. $12,500 OBO. Contact: Roy Martin, (360) 746-0400, roymartin@creativedivorce.com
Assistance in Serious Cases: J ust moved to Bellingham. Recently licensed in Washington,
with 42 years of trial experience in Texas, including lead counsel in 2 Capital Murders in the past
two years, and 12 years as a trial judge. Available to assist in preparation and trial of serious cases
- criminal and civil. Contact: Norman E. Lanford, Sr., 512-751-1272, or n.lanford@sbcglobal.net.
CLASSIFIED ADS
Free to all WCBA members & firms
e-mail ad copy as MS Word .doc file to:
rajeev@northwhatcomlaw.com
by the 15th of the preceding month
Questions? Call 360 527-9400
Office Space Available – Bellingham Towers - 119 N. Commercial Street – downtown! Nancy at
647-1916, ext. 112; Or email nancy@hollanderinvestments.com Conference Room available for
Rent to Tenants and Non-Tenants. New Cardio Room & Shower available for Tenants – access 24h!
Attorney Available to Assist with Overflow Work. Former Sole Practitioner licensed in both
Georgia and Washington, will assist with your Overflow needs; now you can have the part-time assistance you need, when you need it. Professional and dependable. Can work on-site or off-site at
my own well-equipped home office. Rates variable by complexity of work; minimum 3
hours.
Contact me directly as follows:
Carol Sheppard (770)366-8186 or CSSheppard100@gmail.com.
Hiring An Associate— Adelstein, Sharpe & Serka seeks mid-level to senior associate with litigation experience, strong writing skills and a refined fashion sense. Please send cover letter and resume to Jeff Fairchild, PO Box 5158, Bellingham, WA 98227-5158 or law@adelstein.com.
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Civil Procedure Corner
By Bryan L. Page *
Jurisdictional Limit for District Court Cases
I just learned the monetary limit for cases filed in district courts was increased from $75,000 to $100,000 earlier this year.1 The legislature approved the change in its 2015 session.2 The change took effect back on
July 24, 2015.3 How am I just learning about this now? I must have been
distracted by our nice summer.
The legislature last raised the limit in 2008 when it went from $50,000 to $75,000. 4 Apparently the
2008 financial crises is well behind us. The value of people’s lawsuits has skyrocketed enough to
raise the limit another $25,000. I am not sure if it is good or bad that people have more expensive
legal disputes. As a reason for the increase, the proponents of the bill testified that the increase will
allow consumers to file cases in district court and benefit from lower filing fees and a quicker trial. 5
Proponents of the change included the Washington District and Municipal Court Judges’ Association.6 The bill passed both houses of the legislature unanimously.
The legislature also made one other interesting change. The statute used to read “If the value of the
claim or the amount at issue does not exceed” the monetary limit specified, the district court has jurisdiction.7 But the legislature added an introductory clause so that the statute now reads “If, for
each claimant, the value of the claim or the amount at issue does not exceed” the monetary limit
specified, the district court has jurisdiction.8 So now it appears multiple claimants can bring claims
in a single lawsuit in district court, even if the total value of their claims together exceeds $100,000,
as long as each of their claims individually does not exceed $100,000.
The statute still provides that the $100,000 limit is “exclusive of interest, costs, and attorneys’
fees.” 9 And asserting a claim in excess of this limit is not fatal to a plaintiff’s case. “When any
party in good faith asserts a claim in an amount in excess of the jurisdiction of the district court, the
district court shall order the entire case removed to superior court.” 10
It will be curious to see how these changes play out. Will they result in more cases being filed in
district court? Will they result in different types of cases being filed in district court? After these
changes have time to sink in, at a future bar association meeting maybe our Whatcom County District Court judges can let us know if they have seen any changes in cases being filed in district
court.
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* Bryan Page is a shareholder at Carmichael Clark, P.S. and practices civil trial and appellate litigation in state and federal courts, with an emphasis on business, commercial, and real estate disputes. He can be reached at (360) 647-1500 or BPage@CarmichaelClark.com.
Endnotes
1. RCW 3.66.020.
2. Laws of 2015, ch. 260, § 1.
3. Id.
4. Final Senate Bill Report on SB 5125, 64th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Wash. 2015).
5. Original on SB 5125, 64th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Wash. 2015).
6. Id.
7. Laws of 2015, ch. 260, § 1.
8. Id.
9. RCW 3.66.020.
10. CRLJ 14A(b).
November Bar Speaker
Honorable Ricardo S. Martinez
United States District Court Judge – Western District of Washington
Judge Martinez was born in Mercedes, Texas and raised in Whatcom
County where he graduated form Lynden High School.
He went on to University of Washington for undergraduate and law studies, and received his J.D. In 1975. He was an assistant prosecutor with
King County's Prosecuting Attorney’s office from 1980 to 1990. Martinez
ascended to the King County Superior Court bench from 1990 to 1998,
and from 1998 to 2004 he served as a magistrate judge for the USDC for
Western District of Washington.
On October 14, 2003, Martinez was nominated by President George W. Bush to a new seat in the
Western District of Washington, and he was confirmed by the Senate on June 15, 2004. Judge
Martinez became the first Latino judge in the Western District of Washington.
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Representing Deaf Clients:
Guidance from Whatcom’s Hearing Speech and Deafness Center
Bt Joel Bergsbaken, Progr am Coor dinator, HSDC
The general population has many misconceptions about the Deaf community. Most of these
have to do with imagined limitations (limited ability to drive, limited intellect, limited ability to
be safe, limited employability, limited parenting ability, etc.). The most common actual limitation,
however, arises from the misconception by hearing people that English and American Sign Language (ASL) are related…that ASL is “English with your hands”. ASL differs greatly from English not only in how words and sentences are produced but in how they are structured. There is no
one-to-one correlation between English and ASL. It is, in fact, more foreign to English than Mandarin, Swahili, or Navajo. And the most common limitation imposed on a Deaf individual is a requirement to use written English rather than be allowed to use their primary language, ASL.
Hearing people correctly assume that the subject of English is taught to Deaf children in
school, but they don’t realize how daunting a task it is to learn a language you don’t have access
to. Every letter in written English is a symbol that refers to a sound made with the mouth and/or
vocal cords. For a Deaf child, each symbol may as well refer to brainwave activity which is
equally inaccessible. Hearing people learn spoken language by overhearing the language being
used by others around them. Overheard speech is completely inaccessible to Deaf people. Deaf
people, in turn, learn sign language by overseeing it used by others around them. Imagine how
many overheard conversations you experience in one day, each reinforcing your use of vocabulary and syntax. As a result, most Deaf people are bi-lingual in ASL and written English but their
English fluency is usually incomplete and less dependable because they have had far less access/
exposure to it than their hearing peers. English as a Second Language literacy varies widely within the Deaf community from illiterate to very skilled, but even the most skilled will make mistakes when communicating in novel ways or on novel subjects. Regardless of skill level, it takes
great effort for the Deaf community to communicate in English where using ASL for them is relatively effortless and accurate.
But what about lip-reading? Only 30% of spoken language is actually visible on the lips.
So if you are already a native English speaker and lose your ability to hear speech you then have
access to 30% and must infer the remaining 70%. If you are born Deaf and never heard English
you must infer even the 30%. As a result, most Deaf people can read lips for simple sentences
“How are you?” and “nice to meet you” but lip-reading accuracy will average 10-30%.
This is why ASL interpreters are necessary to provide appropriate and effective communication between hearing and Deaf people who use ASL. Both the Americans with Disabilities Act
and the Washington Law Against Discrimination (RCW 49.60) require any public accommoda(Continued on page 9)
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tion (i.e. businesses that are open to the public) to provide equal access to their services unless it is
an undue burden to the business. To determine whether an interpreter is an undue burden, the courts
look at earnings and expenses for an entire year or more to see if the cost would put the business at
risk. If there is no risk of closing your doors due to the expense, it is not an undue burden. To help
with interpreter costs, there is the Disabled Tax Credit (IRS form 8826) which will reimburse, in the
form of a credit, 50% of any expenses for disability access over $250 per year up to $10,000. The
Deaf community is a small minority (~0.1% of the population) so the expense of a sign language
interpreter is necessary but will only pop up on the rare occasion. Final note, if the court orders a
Deaf person to use a service then the court is responsible for the interpreter cost.
Overheard conversation is also critical in learning about our immediate environment. We
learn about current events, trivia, social norms, and expectations by overhearing acquaintances and
strangers tell each other about the goings on in their lives. Deaf people share with each other too;
but because the Deaf community is small the opportunity to oversee others describing events in
ASL is relatively rare. As a result, the Deaf community has less access to information about how
systems work and may likely have only the most superficial knowledge of what to expect in that
system. This lack of access to common knowledge is most evident in the Deaf community’s dealings with the legal system. Deaf people very often do not know how they are expected to behave,
how to answer questions appropriately, and the potential consequences of actions, inaction, or decisions that the general population will know without any legal training. This makes Deaf individuals
especially vulnerable to unequal and severe consequences.
Another common issue in communication between Deaf and hearing people is implicit vs.
explicit communication. Because the Deaf community has less access to information they will go
out of their way to directly inform people of what they have learned and what they expect without
sugar coating it, implying, or hinting at anything. They will fully explain things, telling the whole
story including all details back to the beginning. This is an attempt to follow politeness rules within
the Deaf community. When your community has less access to information you share directly and
explicitly and include all details, as one assumes the other person may not have another chance to
get that information. To do any less would be seen as exclusive and rude, and will affect the level of
trust.
This is in sharp contrast to how the hearing majority exchange information. Because information is so easily overheard, hearing people will purposely be vague to prevent sensitive information from coming back to bite them. They can also reasonably assume that the other person has
already heard at least a little of what they are talking about (often many times over). As a result and
in order to be viewed as polite, hearing people will allude to, hint at, and imply what they mean rather than state it explicitly and directly. If a person already knows something about what you are
talking about and you “spell it out for them” they might respond with “Yeah, I know”, or “Duh…?”,
or worse. So they will instead start by hinting at something: “Crazy what’s going on over the mountains…” and wait to see if the other person chimes in with “Yeah, I heard they are 70% contained.”
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In this example there is no mention of the topic “forest fires” but yet the conversation flows. If, on
the other hand you sat someone down and began to explain to them very directly that there are a
number of fires burning in the state they would likely think that you believe them to be ignorant.
So the rules of politeness and need for information are opposite in Deaf and hearing cultures. But
because the hearing culture is so much larger than the Deaf community, their needs are almost always met first. In our work, we see people interacting with the Deaf community and not being explicit: “It might be worthwhile for you to look into this program” instead of saying “I want you to
sign up for this program and go to all of the classes and let me know when you have finished it because it will help show the judge you are being responsible. If you don’t do all of those things, I
think it will be harder to convince the judge to dismiss the case”. To a hearing person that might
feel like you are “over-explaining” and thus rude. With the Deaf community, however, explicitly
telling expectations, reasoning, and likely outcomes is viewed as inclusive and polite and will likely
yield more collaboration and follow through.
Lastly, it is important to discuss facial expressions. Just like English speakers use their tone
of voice to indicate a statement or a question, ASL users change their facial expressions to vary the
grammar. Unfortunately, the faces that are made in ASL to ask certain types of questions are often
misinterpreted by hearing people as angry, upset, or aggressive. This severely impacts interactions
with law enforcement and the courts who might think someone is being belligerent or argumentative when they might be simply asking clarifying questions. This is another reason interpreters are
necessary. An interpreter is trained to match not only the content of the message but also the mood.
If the interpreter sounds friendly when interpreting for a Deaf person, then the Deaf person is communicating in a friendly manner. If you have a Deaf client, this might help explain how they got into a sticky legal situation or might need to be explained to a court or jury prior to their testimony so
they are not misjudged:


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

The Deaf community is a cultural and linguistic minority
English is their second language with varied second language skill
They have less access to information and will err on the side of telling too much
They may not have had access to information that seems like common knowledge
Being very explicit and including expectations, and possible consequences of actions
and inactions will improve collaboration and compliance
Deaf facial expressions are more connected with grammar than mood.
The Hearing Speech and Deafness Center is a non-profit resource on communication, Deaf Culture,
and hearing differences. We are a resource for the entire community serving people who are Deaf,
hard of hearing, and hearing. Contact us for information or referral services at 360-647-0910 or
email us at bellingham@hsdc.org
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Thank You for the Warm Welcome
By Jennifer Slattery
Community. When you Google “community,” there are many more definitions than I anticipated.
My favorite is Google’s definition: “a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.”
I saw the perfect example of community at my first Lawyers Take Orders Auction (“LTO”) in October. I saw a tremendous turn out of lawyers, paralegals, students, and other community members
who all believe in the work of LAW Advocates. I saw people from criminal defense firms, business
law firms, plaintiff litigation firms, and all areas of law, who shared a common goal of providing
access to legal services for the poor. This “feeling of fellowship” was prevalent, and it gave me
goose bumps to witness this support of an important organization.
You see, I was told that I would have a difficult time finding a place in the Whatcom County legal
community. But I have found that instead of being looked at as an outsider, I have been welcomed
into the community with genuine kindness.
I moved back to Washington in the spring from New York City, and I have been living in Sequim
while deciding where we want to settle. I interviewed for the LAW Advocates Executive Director
position in July and immediately fell in love with the city and the people. After not getting the position with LAW Advocates, I realized that my family and career NEEDED to be in Bellingham.
And despite the rumor that it was difficult to settle here as an “outside” lawyer, I was encouraged
and welcomed by all. Many lawyers have taken time to meet with me, have coffee, have a drink,
and give me advice about settling in Whatcom County.
As I have found through meeting many lawyers, Whatcom County’s legal community embodies my
favorite definition of “community.” The LTO Auction was just one example of this “feeling of fellowship.” LAW Advocates would not be the premier volunteer lawyer’s program that it is without
its volunteers: Whatcom County lawyers, paralegals, law clerks
and students. Members of law firms who often oppose each other
in litigation join together to support LAW Advocates. It is this
shared and strong devotion to providing equal access to legal services that attracts me to live and work here.
I have already had the privilege of meeting many of the attorneys
and paralegals in Whatcom County and look forward to meeting
each and every one of you. Feel free to email me with your
thoughts about what you love about being part of this great community (jennifer.slattery@me.com).
I look forward to building a career, raising a family, and being a
member of your community. Thank you for welcoming me.
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Ramblings of a Small Time Country Lawyer
~By Rajeev!
“The Appearance of Justice & The Bench”
Subtitle:
The Judge’s Coffee.
Whenever I allow a client to hire me, I make them read a lengthy fee
agreement with all kinds of strange caveats and disclaimers. One example
is that having a practice on the border I find that I have to state with extremely clear specificity that both payments and estimates are to be in United States Dollars, and
not in Loonies, Pounds Sterling, Rupees, Pesos or whatever else they use north of my office (Euros,
I think.). My favorite clause however is what I tell my clients is the “Coffee Clause.”
Most of them don’t recall reading anything about coffee and so pose a questioning look at me
when I mention this; the rest of them just skimmed the agreement anyways and are looking nonplussed.1 I say “This part!” while jabbing with my finger at the fee agreement. “This part, that says
we can’t guarantee results but will use our best efforts, I call it the Coffee Clause. I call it that, because though we will certainly use our best efforts to present your case in the best light, it all comes
down to whether or not the Judge had his or her coffee that morning, or got in a fight with his or
her significant other the night before. Ultimately, if we can’t work it out with the other party, we
are basically throwing are hands up in the air and saying ‘Hey we can’t resolve this, let’s have a
stranger decide for us.’ Judges are human, and like all humans they come from different backgrounds and life experiences, and they have good days and bad days, just like you do.” Most clients
get this.
Still this poses a problem for judicial officials; the fact that they are human that is. Having
human judges has huge benefit for our society and the legal system as a whole, as it allows for discretion, empathy and the doing of justice, which in most cases generally cannot be done by adding
numbers and following formulas. Being human, however is a burden for judicial officials. As we
know, when studies are done with guinea-pig jurors given the same set of facts, either way a judge
rules the ruling is widely seen as wrong by those jurors. Then, again, in practice I often seem to see
the reverse: judges thinking juries have got it wrong, so perhaps turnabout is fair play. Judicial officials, therefore, not only have to focus on doing justice, but doing so while also taking pains to also
present the appearance of justice. No matter how well reasoned and just a decision is, unless it also
appears just, it undermines the premises of our legal system - which is that even though judges are
human and have good days and bad days, they are on the whole doing justice.
Generally, there are mechanisms to deal with judges who do not appear to do justice—at the
Federal level there are impeachments, and here in Washington we have elections. The question
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about elections vs. appointments, begs the question as to who defines justice? The answer in the
USA, as always and for better or for worse, has been the consensus of the governed, We the People. Fortunately, many brave and far-sighted judges have done justice and stood up against populism when it was necessary. The opposite, of course, is also true and much miscarriage of justice
can be perpetuated by the bench. There is a fabulous made-up quote that is attributed to Benjamin
Franklin, but which is not his at all: “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are
as outraged as those who are.” Regardless of whomever said it, it reflects a truth; that often society does not care for the miscarriage of justice if it does not feel it.
Judicial officials, however, have a special and dare I say sacred charge in our society to do
justice. They witness fair ness and unfair ness, fr ivolousness and ser iousness ever y day, regardless of whether they have had their coffee (or tea, or morning run or Mountain Dew) that
morning. They are effectively living inside of Emmanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative, paraphrased: “Live your life as though your every act were to become a universal law.” 2 Unlike the
rest of us, the acts of judicial officials literally do become law, which effectively for our clients
might as well be universal laws. This is a high moral burden to carry, especially when you carry
the knowledge that most of the time, at best, 50% of the people listening are going to be in disagreement with your ruling.
This is why good judicial officials take the effort and time to not only do justice but also to
ensure the appearance of justice on top of that. For our system to work, judicial officials must not
only do justice, but society must be reassured that justice is being done. This becomes an increasingly difficult task the heavier the case loads are on the court. How does one take the time to explain the law to the pro se litigant when there are 12 more cases on your motions calendar? The
answer is for Judges, as it is for all humans, by doing the best they can. In our democracy, our judicial system, just like our legislative and executive systems are predicated on the consent of the
governed. If Judges cannot communicate effectively as to the justice they are doing, the credibility
of our system breaks down, and in Washington with our elected-system the Judge does not get to
do justice for long. ~R!
Endnotes
1– Did you know this word has two completely opposite definitions? From Latin non plus (“no more, no further”);.it originally meant “Bewildered; unsure how to respond or act.” Here, in North American English, however,
it has come to mean the opposite: “Unperturbed; hoping to disguise confusion.” The Oxford English Dictionary
has proscribed this usage, theorizing that it ostensibly came from "not plussed", although "plussed" by itself is not a
recognized English word. But we won the Revolution and Two World Wars for them, so I guess our new oppositedefinition wins.
2– My paraphrase is my pop culture distillation of his first three formulations of the same, in Grounding for the
Metaphysics of Morals (1785).
1. First Formulation: Act only accor ding to that maxim wher eby you can at the same time will that it
should become a universal law without contradiction.
2. Second Formulation: Act in such a way that you tr eat humanity, whether in your own per son or in
the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end.
3. Third Formulation: Ever y r ational being must so act as if he wer e thr ough his maxim always a legislating member in the universal kingdom of ends.
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Wanted: Experienced Legal Assistant
A plaintiff's personal injury firm in Burlington is currently
seeking a legal assistant. Position requires attention to
detail and this individual must possess excellent organization skills. The ideal candidate will be able to work
both independently as well as collaboratively in a team
environment and will have 3-5 years of experience.
Candidate must be have a great attitude as they will
also work at the front desk, and will be the first contact
our clients have with the firm. We are seeking an individual with a professional demeanor, who is calm, patient and proactive. Must adhere to deadlines and be
able to manage an extremely busy workload.
A Spanish speaker is a plus.
Our firm is a growing firm and offers a competitive salary, production bonuses, and offers health benefits including Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, and
401(k). Additionally we offer two weeks paid vacation,
floating birthday holiday and paid sick leave.
Please submit a resume, three professional references
and salary requirements for consideration to
Hwebb@glpattorneys.com.
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WHATCOM COUNTY BAR
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Serving Whatcom County’s legal community since 2004.
Let us transcribe your documents. 24 hour turn-around, $6.50 per page. Pickup and delivery service in Bellingham. Receive your drafts on disk or by email for
easy changes! Doctor letters, pleadings, demand packages, telephone interviews,
GAL reports . . . you name it! Resume and references available upon request.
We can accept tapes, MP3, WAV, WMA, DSS and Dragon files.
Express Legal Transcription,
L.L.C.
Sue Fox-Golombek
Phone: (360) 734-7920
(360) 739-6707
Fax:
(360) 734-7920
express@openaccess.org
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Whatcom County Bar Association
October 7, 2015 Meeting Minutes
12:16 pm Meeting Called to Order by President Mark Kaiman
Guests were introduced.
September Minutes unanimously approved.
Treasurer’s Report
Attached
The report was unanimously approved.
Committee Reports
Law Advocates Report
Reminder regarding the Lawyers Take Orders Fundraiser
Old Business
None
New Business –
None
Speaker discussed new innovations in the legal practice
Adjourned at 12:59 pm.
By: David. A. Brown
RESORT TO CHEAP SELF-PROMOTION!
Advertise in
the Newsletter
Admit it. You read the ads in the Newsletter to see what’s
going on. So does everyone else. If you have a service to
offer to your colleagues in the local legal community — or
if you just want to show off — you won’t find a cheaper,
easier way to do it.
1/8-page . . . $35/mo.
2.46”H x 3.86”W
1/4-page . . . $50/mo.
5.00”H x 3.86” W
1/2-page . . . $75/mo.
5.00” H x 7.90” W
1/2
full page . . . $100/mo.
10.00” H x 7.90” W
1/8
And it’s easy to place your ad
E-mail your ad as an MS Word .doc, MS Publisher .pub, .JPG,
.GIF or .pdf file to:
rajeev@northwhatcomlaw.com
We’ll get it in the next issue and bill you. Pre-size the ad if you
know how. Otherwise, tell us the size you want. Questions? Email Editor Rajeev at the above e-mail address, or call (360)
332-7000 .
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